Water & Powercurated by Noah Davis

Water & Power is thefourth
exhibition curated by The UM’s founder, Noah Davis, featuring works by artists Olafur Eliasson, Hans Haacke, and James Turrell from
the permanent collection of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA),
along with Light and Space movement pioneer, Fred Eversley, and Los
Angeles’ Poet Laureate, Robin Coste-Lewis.

The show is both
historical and global in its scope. It includes some of the earliest works by
Eliasson, Haacke, and Turrell, when they were just beginning their explorations of
natural phenomena as sculptural material. Elusive rainbows, ceaseless condensation and minimalist architecture are rendered from light,
liquid, and atmosphere. A parabolic lens by Eversley demonstrates how energy guides form, and Coste-Lewis’ poem maps geographies of people through her project on the indigenous
circumpolar diaspora, Arctic colonialism/exploration, and Matthew Henson.

Noah left us with 18
exhibition titles and corresponding checklists, but no explanation for his
shows. And while we wish daily that he was with us to share his ideas,
serendipitously, his absence means that all viewers are left to individually decide what each exhibition
is about. Through this process, Noah has made us
better observers, better listeners, and better thinkers. Right now, we are meditating on...